China Coast Guard ‘extra strong than ever’ — Radio Free Asia

The more and more highly effective Chinese language coast guard has boosted its presence to an unprecedented degree within the disputed waters of the South China Sea, a brand new report alleged. 

In the meantime, Chinese language and Japanese coast guard ships appeared to have had a quick however tense confrontation close to the contested Senkaku (Diaoyu) islands within the East China Sea on Monday.

The report ‘Flooding the Zone: China Coast Guard Patrols in 2022’ by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a analysis establishment on the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research in Washington D.C., asserted that, “China’s coast guard presence within the South China Sea is extra strong than ever.”

It stated “the China Coast Guard (CCG) maintained near-daily patrols at key options” claimed by China and different neighboring international locations.

Along with the ever rising drive of maritime militia, the CCG patrols “present Beijing’s willpower to say management over the huge maritime zone inside its claimed nine-dash line,” the report stated.

The so-called nine-dash line is an imaginary boundary that Beijing makes use of to demarcate its “historic claims” over practically 90% of the South China Sea.

China’s claims are disputed by different international locations and had been rejected by an U.N. tribunal in 2016.

Largest coast guard vessel

The AMTI crew analyzed ships’ computerized identification system (AIS) knowledge from the yr 2022 throughout the 5 options: Second Thomas Shoal, Luconia Shoals, Scarborough Shoal, Vanguard Financial institution, and Thitu Island.

A number of international locations maintain contesting claims over all of the 5 options however, up to now, China has been probably the most assertive. 

CCG “patrols throughout all 5 options amounted to 1,703 ship-days in complete,” in accordance with the AMTI report, which additionally famous that the variety of days the CCG patrolled at Vanguard Financial institution, an vital website of Vietnamese oil and fuel improvement, greater than doubled from 142 days in 2020 to 310 days in 2022. 

This has been a serious concern for Vietnamese authorities as Vietnam’s financial system depends closely on its oil and fuel trade.

“Vanguard Financial institution, known as Bai Tu Chinh in Vietnamese, has grow to be some type of stopover for Chinese language patroling vessels,” stated Van Pham, chief administrator of the South China Sea Chronicle Initiative, a Vietnamese unbiased analysis venture.

“They typically anchor on the financial institution earlier than persevering with their patrols,” she stated.

“In 2021, CCG ships from Vanguard Financial institution often approached Vietnam’s Lan Tay and Lan Do fuel fields, generally so shut that they might be contained in the fields’ safety areas and jeopardizing the pipeline,” the analyst stated.

Vanguard Financial institution is the place Chinese language and Vietnamese legislation enforcement vessels confronted one another in July 2019, one of many worst standoffs between the 2 international locations within the South China Sea in recent times.  

“CCG vessels normally transfer from one patrol location to a different, together with spending time at Vanguard Financial institution after which passing by Tuna Block, an Indonesian fuel area in Natuna Sea, en path to Malaysia’s Luconia Shoals,” stated AMTI Director Greg Poling. 

Indonesian and Malaysian legislation enforcement had been each placed on alert this month when China’s largest coast guard ship 5901 operated of their unique financial zones (EEZs).

An EEZ offers a state unique entry to the pure sources within the waters and seabed however these within the South China Sea overlap with China’s nine-dash line.

Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur each despatched naval ships to observe the Chinese language vessel’s actions.

The CCG5901, additionally the world’s largest coast guard vessel, was nonetheless within the space on Tuesday, in accordance with knowledge supplied by ship-tracking web site MarineTraffic.

Confrontations and accidents

“All indications are that these developments will maintain in 2023. China will hold the CCG patrolling these areas day by day, will harass new oil and fuel drilling, and can deploy lots of of militia within the Spratlys,” Poling informed RFA.

“The Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam all stood kind of agency in 2022, which I might count on to proceed this yr,” he added. “However there’ll inevitably be tense run ins and potential accidents that would escalate.”

Japanese media reported that 4 Chinese language coast guard ships tried to strategy a Japanese-registered personal vessel in Japan’s territorial waters across the Senkaku Islands within the East China Sea on Monday. 

That is the second time this yr Chinese language legislation enforcement ships had been accused of intruding into Japanese waters across the Senkaku chain.

Japan Coast Guard patrol ships secured the security of the 997-ton Shinsei Maru and warned the Chinese language ships to depart the waters, Jiji Press reported.

The ship is alleged to have been conducting marine analysis across the Senkakus. Researchers additionally flew a drone to take photos of the islands.

Chinese language state media in the meantime stated China’s coast guard “expelled Japanese ships that illegally entered Chinese language territorial waters across the Diaoyu Islands,” utilizing the Chinese language identify for the Senkaku islands that are below Japan’s management but in addition claimed by China.

“China Coast Guard vessels took needed administration and management measures and warned them away in accordance with the legislation,” a Chinese language spokesman was quoted as saying.

Japan stated Chinese language vessels have intensified actions round Japan after Tokyo designated Beijing an unprecedented “strategic problem” in its newest Nationwide Safety Technique in mid-December.

Chinese language warships of the Liaoning provider group held workouts close to Japan in December, 2022, simulating assaults on Japan’s outlying Nansei islands. Tokyo stated it will purchase extra “counter strike” capabilities and has already deliberate to bolster missile and digital warfare capability on these islands.